Shower stall



Feb. 29, 1944. I s so 2,343,201

S HOWER S TALL Filed June 5, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 29, 1944. s. E. NILSON 2,343,201

, SHOWER STALL Filed June 5, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 29, 1944 UNITED STATES'; PATENT OFFICE SHOWER STALL Stanley E. Nilson, Chicago, 111., assignor to Fiat Metal Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111.,

a corporation of Illinois Application June 5, 1942, Serial No. 445,869

3 Claims. I (Cl. 189-2) The present invention relates to shower stalls I hard-pressed, treated fibreboard which is waterproof and rigid may be placed in the framework with a minimum amount of assembly work and held together in a rigid construction.

It is another purpose of the present invention to provide in a shower stall or compartment a novel connecting joint between the side walls and back wall of the compartment whereby the side walls may be attached to the back wall in the assembly without using screws or other attaching means that would necessitate putting holes in the side walls.

The features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully as the description proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It should be understood however that the drawings and description are illustrative only and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. i is a somewhat diagrammatic perspective view illustrating the several parts of the shower compartment as they are being brought together;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled shower compartment;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2, the rear wall of the compartment being shown only part way up;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line l--'l of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 but showing the position of the parts before the side Wall is inserted.

I Referring now in detail to the drawings, the present invention is directed to improvements in shower stalls and compartments of the general 1,684,502 issued September 18, 1928. These shower compartments are characterized in that they have a receptor portion H] of some precast material that is waterproof and not slippery, such, for example, as concrete. The shower compartment embodies a receptor l0, two side walls II and I2, and a rear wall l3. The several walls rest upon a raised peripheral ledge M of the receptor and fit inside an upstanding peripheral flange or rim I5 that is rigidly attached to and embedded in the receptor In. The ledge M at the top edge preferably sloms inward slightly or at nature shown in United States Letters Patent No.

least is just level so that any water on the side walls will run down along the walls and inwardly into the receptor to a drain I6 which is mounted in the bottom of the receptor.

The flange l 5 in the present instance comprises a peripheral metallic strip that forms a mold gate for the receptor and carries an angularly disposed strip 11 that is embedded directly in the material of the receptor. This angularly disposed .strip H has its portion l8 that lies fiatagainst the flange l5 secured thereto in any suitable manner such as by welding. The receptor flange l5 may also desirably have its lower edge turned upwardlyand inwardly as indicated at l9 so as to be embedded in the concrete receptor.

The present invention concerns itself primarily with the framework by which the walls I l, l 2 and I3 are secured together and held in place so as to form a rigid compartment. Preferably these walls are constructed of a non-metallic material; for example, a highly compressed fibreboard treated with a waterproofing material and of f sufficient thickness and strength to withstand normal usage. These materials are available to industrial manufacturers under various trade names such, for example; as Presd Wood and Masonite. The walls are sprayed with a finishing enamel which is baked on so as to give a lasting waterproof finish. In order to mount the three walls in place and tie them together I provide the back'wall with two vertically running attaching strips at each side edge. The outer attaching strip comprises an angle iron 20. It will be understood of course that there is an angle iron 20 at each side edge of the back wall l3. There is an inner strip 2| attached to each of'the strips 20 by means of screws 22 that extend through the wall l3 and thread into the strip 2 l. The strip 2| has a back portion which fits fiat against the wall l3 and a diagonally extending portion 23 which extends toward the adjacent side wall and toward the front of the compertinent. This diagonally running portion 23 of the strip 2i extends toward the forwardly extending portion 28a of the angle iron 20 and terminates in an inturned lip 24 which projects some distance rearwardly and due to the nature of the metallic strip 2i this lip will have considerable resiliency. Also, the portion 23 will have considerable resiliency in the construction of the strip 2!. The angle between the back portion of the strip and the portion 23 is made such that the lip 24 is spaced from the portion 28a of the angle iron 20 a distance somewhat less than the thickness of the wall portion l2 when the strips 20 and 2| are secured together on the wall I3. This is clearly illustrated in Fig- 8 when compared with Fig. 4 where the wall 12 is inserted in place.

In inserting the walls H and I2 into the narrow pasageways between the lips 24 and the portions 20a. of the strips 20 the assembler uses a simple tool of some sort to spread the lip 24 away from the portion 20a sufliciently to get a corner of the side wall started between them. This operation has just been commenced with the wall [2 in Fig. 1. It is of course a simple matter, once the start has been made, to force the entire rear edge of the wall l2 backwardly between the lip 24 and the portion 290. until it abuts against the portion of the strip 2| that lies against the wall l3. The resiliency of the portions 23 and 24 causes them to grip the walls i l and i2 and form a. water-tight seal with the walls. In order to complete the assembly a top frame 25 is placed down over the three walls H, l2 and I3.

The top frame 25 is composed of two side sections 26 and 21, a rear section 28 of angle iron, and a front section 29 which is channel-shaped in cross section as shown in Fig. 6, the channel opening inwardly and the top wall 30 of the channel having a downturned flangeSl. The side and rear portions 26, 21 and 28 of the frame 25 have smaller angle irons 32 secured thereto as by welding so as to form a recess between the outer'angle iron and the smaller inner angle iron 32' to receive the top edges of the wall sections ll, I2 and I3. The angle irons 32 are of course cut away at the corners so as to permit the frame to fit down over the vertical corner frame members 20 and 2|. In addition they are cut away to receive the top ends of two front stiles 33 and 34 that are secured tothe front edges of the wall sections II and I2. The lower flange of the channel 29 is also cut away to receive the upper ends of the stiles 33 and 34.

The stiles 33 and 34 are alike in construction except that one is a 'righthand stile and the other is a lefthand stile. A cross section through the stile 34 is shown in Fig. 5. The stile comprisesa channel-shaped steel strip with an angleshaped steel strip 35 fastened thereto adjacent the outer flange 36 of the stile. The strip 35 has one edge folded over as indicated at 31 so as to press against the wall 12 and hold the wall in place. The folded over edge 31 makes it possible to force the wall l2 into the recess between the angle 35 and the flange 36 after which the wall is held securely against withdrawal because the tendency of the folded over edge 31 is to bite into the wall l2 and oppose its withdrawal. The stile 34 has its inner flange 33 provided with a lip 39 which is used to secure a threshold piece QB in place. To stiffen the lip 39 the opposite ends of the flange 36 ar provided with inturned por tions, one of which is indicated at 4| in Fig. 5.

The threshold 40 comprises an inverted U-' shaped channel having extensions 42 and 43 which are adapted to overlap the lips 39 of the stiles 33 and 34 and to be secured thereto by means of suitable screws, one of which is indicated at 44 in Fig. 5. The threshold 40 also has its inner bottom edge 45 turned upwardly so as to provide a stronger and more rigid portion to rest upon the receptor ledge M. It will be understood of course that the flange l extends across in front'of the threshold.

In order to finish the securing of the parts together after they have been assembled, suitable screws are used to fasten the stiles 33 and 34 and the threshold 40 as well as the lower ends of the the corner frame angle irons 20 to the flange l5.

It may also be desirable to fasten the side walls II and I 2 to the flange l5 by means of small screws that are passed through the walls from the interior and through the flange l5.

From the foregoing description it is believed that the details of construction and the manner of assembling the shower compartment embodying the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A shower stall of the character described, comprising a receptor base, upstanding rear corner frames, a back wall secured to and connecting the rear corner frames. said rear corner frames having forwardly facing side Wall receiving and gripping portions. one of the said portions of each frame having a part lying against the rear wall and afiixed thereto and having a somewhat resilient section extending forwardly and out- Wardly and terminating in a rearwardl'y turned lip the other of said portions comprising a forwardly extending flange lying outside the walls and extending forwardly beyond said lip and co operating with the lip to define a side wall re- 4 ceiving passage of less width initially than the side wall it is to receive, securing means afiixing the aforesaid part of each frame to the rearwall, the-said resilient section concealing said securing means, two side walls insert-ed in the aforesaid passages, two front corner frames and stiles attached to said side walls, and a rectangular top frame having downwardly'facing' recesses to receive the top edges of said side walls and rear wall whereby to bind the three walls into a rigid enclosure.

2. A shower stall of the character described. comprising a receptor base, upstanding rear corner frames, a back wall secured to and connecting the rear corner frames, said rear corner frames having forwardly facing side wall receiving and gripping portions, one of the said portions of each frame having a part lying against the rear wall and affixed thereto and having a somewhat resilient section extending forwardly and outwardly and terminating in a rearwardly turned lip the other of said portions comprising a forwardly extending flange lying outside the walls and extending forwardly beyond said lip and cooperating with the lip to define a side wall receiving passage of less width initially than the side wall it is to receive, securing means affixing the aforesaid part of each frame to the rear wall, the said resilient section concealing said securing means, two side walls inserted in the aforesaid passages, two front corner frames and stiles attached to said side walls, and a rectangular top frame having downwardly facing recesses to receive the top edges of said side walls and rear wall whereby to bind the three walls into a rigid enclosure, said shower stall including a threshold extending between the stiles and fastened thereto.

3. A shower stall of the character described, comprising a receptor base, upstanding rear corner frames, a back wall secured to and connecting the rear corner frames, said rear corner frames having forwardly facing side wall receiving and gripping portions, one of the said portions of each frame having a part lying against the rear wall and aflixed thereto and having a somewhat resilient section extending forwardly and outwardly 10 and terminating in a rearwardly turned lip the other of said portions comprising a forwardly extending flange lying outside the walls and extending forwardly beyond said lip and cooperating with the lip to define a side wall receiving 15 passage of less width initially than the side wall it is to receive, securing means afiixing the aforesaid part of each frame to the rear wall, the said resilient section concealing said securing means, two side walls inserted in the aforesaid passages, two front corner frames and stiles attached to said side walls, and a rectangular top frame having downwardly facing recesses to receive the top edges of said side Walls and rear wall whereby to bind the three walls into a rigid enclosure, said shower stall including a threshold extending between the stiles and fastened thereto, said threshold comprising an inverted U-shaped channel resting on said receptor base.

STANLEY E. NILSON. 

